#con

The idea of determinism combined with complete human responsibility struck me as very hard to reconcile with an idea of justice, let alone mercy. ↗

— Ken MacLeod

#combined #complete #determinism #hard #human

The real world is far too complex and unpredictable to make something like the idea of humanity controlling its own evolution or engineering itself - well, I wouldn't say impossible but it should be approached with a degree of caution. ↗

— Ken MacLeod

#caution #complex #controlling #degree #engineering

I am not really retired, and may never be completely, but I can't think of a better place to contemplate retirement than New York City. ↗

— Robert MacNeil

#better #better place #city #completely #contemplate

Nell," the Constable continued, indicating through his tone of voice that the lesson was concluding, "the difference between ignorant and educated people is that the latter know more facts. But that has nothing to do with whether they are stupid or intelligent. The difference between stupid and intelligent people—and this is true whether or not they are well-educated—is that intelligent people can handle subtlety. They are not baffled by ambiguous or even contradictory situations—in fact, they expect them and are apt to become suspicious when things seem overly straightforward. ↗

— Neal Stephenson

#intelligence #age

If a man dreams that he has committed a sin before which the sun hid his face, it is often safe to conjecture that, in sheer forgetfulness, he wore a red tie, or brown boots with evening dress. ↗

— Arthur Machen

#boots #brown #committed #conjecture #dreams

Conservative New Testament studies could also provide an intellectually satisfying alternative to German biblical criticism and to the liberal theology that accompanied it. ↗

— John Gresham Machen

#also #alternative #conservative #could #criticism

The degree of freedom from unwanted thoughts and the degree of concentration on a single thought are the measures to gauge spiritual progress. ↗

— Ramana Maharshi

#degree #freedom #freedom from #gauge #measures

The Arab world also won the Nobel with me. I believe that international doors have opened, and that from now on, literate people will consider Arab literature also. We deserve that recognition. ↗

— Naguib Mahfouz

#arab #arab world #believe #consider #deserve

God joins us together by means of the body, in consequence of the laws of the communication of movements. He affects us with the same feelings in consequence of the laws of the conjunction of body and soul. ↗

— Nicolas Malebranche

#body #communication #conjunction #consequence #feelings

The novels take longer to write than the picture book texts, and they do take a different sort of concentration. However, a very short, simple story that works well is just as exciting to me as any longer and more complex book. ↗

— Margaret Mahy

#book #complex #concentration #different #different sort